TALKING TO STRANGERS brings the past and the present together with two deaths in the same location. In signature Barton style, the layers of the investigation are enriched by the characters and how they all interact with one another.

There is something chilling about the unknown in the world of dating apps and in this story, Barton taps into a potential for darkness perfectly. As Detective Elise King is on the case of a dead woman found in the woods, she has to deal with Kiki, a reporter looking for the scoop. These two, though they butt heads at times, unravel secrets and disturbing actions of those on the dating apps connecting the recent death to one of a child years ago. What makes the author’s writing so good is the characters she develops. They are all deeply woven into the narrative as their emotions, flaws, conflicts, and duplicity begin to become exposed. This intern adds to the suspense as it slowly builds until all becomes revealed.

I can say this. I have been a fan of Fiona Barton’s books since devoured THE WIDOW. There is both candor and emotion laced throughout her thrillers that bring a level of reality to the fiction this author creates. And this book is no different. TALKING TO STRANGERS was weighty at times due to the subject matter and events that occur within these pages, but Kiki and Elise deal with all that is thrown at them. Showing strong female characters with vulnerability is something this author excels at. I cannot wait to read what she gives us next.

Series Note: This is the second book in the Elise King series. However, you can absolutely read this book as a standalone. I did. In fact, I didn’t even realize it was part of a series until I started writing my review. Now, I am dying to go back and read LOCAL GONE MISSING.

Audiobook Note: This audiobook enhances the story and gives voices to the main characters who are telling their versions. Narrated by Steve West, Jayne Entwistle, and Gabrielle Glaister, the pacing and inflections moved the reader/listener through the mystery.

I enjoyed this book 2 in this series so much more than the first one. I felt the characters were better developed, the plot was intriguing and the ending not what I was expecting. I liked the interactions between Elise and Kiki more this time and am looking forward to reading more interactions between these two in future books. 3.5

3.75 stars

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton is the second novel featuring DI Elise King. She's reprising her role from Local Gone Missing, but this can be read as a stand alone. I was excited to read this second installment and really enjoyed myself, even if this one was a bit of a slow burn.

Hairdresser Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine's Day. Middle aged and single, Karen had been on many dating sites and had been running a local singles meet up in the area. Is there a connection between the apps/sites and Karens murder? As DI King begins her investigation she's often in a race with journalist Kiki Nunn, who had recently met and interviewed Karen about the dating scene. Now Kiki is determined to get out ahead of the other journalists and get the scoop on this local murder.

This is a great police procedural, but there is a lot of family drama mixed in. DI King is recovering from cancer and is dealing with the side effects of the treatments and journalist Kiki Nunn is a single mom trying her best to provide for her family and still be present. We also are made to think a lot about victim blaming and online dating.

I really enjoy Bartons novels for the quick pace, easy to understand police stuff, and strong female characters. The chapters are short and keep the reader interested and eager to continue reading, and there is also red herrings along the way. There were things I was able to guess, but it didn't take away from the suspense.

I always look forward to Fiona Barton and am eager to read the next installment in the DI King books.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a really great follow up to Barton's first Elise King novel! I love a detective series that can be read as a standalone book, in case you don't realize it's part of a series. This one was twisty, fun, suspenseful, and left me guessing the whole way through. Elise is a solid character that is neither annoying or overwritten.

Another solid story from Fiona Barton - a serial killer seems to be on the loose, stalking women on dating apps. Dark, propulsive, it was a great book.

The description of this book alone had me fearful. Talking To Strangers, out the gate, is what happens in a 24 hour news cycle when the media overhypes and the general public become news mongering sheep. Apt to blame the victim because they had to "resort to online dating". In this case, are the people you know or don't know more dangerous?

Talking to Strangers is an engaging mystery
with many paths that will keep you guessing
until the end. It started off a little slow, but
once it got going, it became more and more
compelling


This was the second installment of this
series featuring Elise King, and although 1
hadn't read the first one,I didn't have any
trouble following along. It can definitely be
read as a stand-alone


I really enjoyed how the pieces of this story
were woven together. The twists were good,
the characters were interesting, and the
ending was well thought out. I'm planning on
going back and reading the first book and
then reading any future books,


I received a complimentary copy of this
book. Opinions expressed in this review are
my own.

Elise is a detective working the case of a murdered woman. A determined reporter is also wanting to find the killer.

Talking to Strangers is a slow burning mystery. Told with well-developed characters and a compelling atmosphere. This is a complex and clever murder mystery.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great character development and plot twists. An engaging (if not electric) read, that is worth checking your time.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review an electronic ARC of this book.

This was a heartbreaking thriller that had a storyline that kept me invested until the end. I liked the alternating POVs throughout the novel and while listening to parts of it via audiobook, I thought the narrators did a great job. Aspects of both storylines were sad and honestly, a little hard to read at times, but really well done and very realistic for current times. I found the two main characters to be a little bland and didn't feel as invested in their lives separate from the cases, but I wonder if this was because I read this second book in the series as a standalone and was missing some of that character development. Overall, I would recommend this book to others who enjoy a dark thriller and say check out the audiobook version for this one!

Detective Elise King returns in the second installment of this captivating series. Fully recovered from breast cancer and back on the job, she’s more than ready to tackle her next case. Elise is determined to uncover the truth behind the murder of Karen Simmons. Karen was apparently murdered by a man she met online. Driven by a desire to prevent other women from falling victim to the same brutal crime, Elise delves deep into the investigation.

However, her pursuit of justice is complicated by the presence of Kiki Nunn, a news reporter who has a personal stake in Karen’s murder. As Kiki had just interviewed Karen the previous week, her interference is relentless, and Elise finds herself constantly at odds with her..

I read Local Gone Missing before diving into this book, which further enhanced my connection to the characters. Elise’s trusting relationship with her neighbor Ronnie is particularly noteworthy. It’s refreshing to read about a protagonist who places such such faith in a civilian. Additionally, Elise’s potential for love again adds a layer of emotional depth to the story. Combining the intriguing mystery, the compelling characters, and the possibility of Elise finding love once more, Talking To Strangers offers a compelling read that was just as good as its predecessor.

Many thanks to Berkley and to First to Read for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

The following review was published or updated in several Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia newspapers and magazines in November and December 2024:

Booking a full year of reading

Review by Tom Mayer

If only us readers could just spend our days … reading. What would a year look like? Here, the editors of Home for the Holidays present their yearlong list of books, culled from the past 12 months of reading and reviewing. A few of the titles you’ll immediately recognize, and you’ll likely have more than few in your own library. But just in case you missed a title or two, we’re showcasing the whole year’s worth of books that we’ve read and reviewed, month by month.

Except for the first title, the list is simply a list. To find the reviews of many of these titles, visit our newspaper parent, The (Athens) News Courier at enewscourier.com — with a slight caveat. Our newspaper webmasters are currently working overtime to improve our content management system, the foundation of any website, and while many of our archives are now found there, it may be a few weeks before everything is fully re-uploaded — including the most recent editions of Limestone Life and Home for the Holidays. For now, though, enjoy our literary stroll through 2024.

And about that first title: Not every college professor can make statistical analysis approachable, let along interesting to their students and the general population, but Athens State University emeritus professor of psychology Mark Durm is not every college professor. After spending nearly five decades teaching thousands of students, the “ol’ psychology professor” decided that he’d best get around to writing the one book out of his nearly 100 published pieces that’s he always wanted to write. Call it a legacy piece, but what it really is is a “best of” Durm’s peer-reviewed, book reviews, non-peer reviewed and magazine articles from his 47 years in higher education.

The result is “Professional Publications of an Ol’ Psychology Professor” (Dorrance) with full previously published articles ranging from studies on the effects of glasses on a child’s self-esteem to his ever-popular parapsychology pieces, Durm presents his internationally recognized efforts with a twist.

“It’s a different kind of book because it doesn’t talk about the research, it presents the research,” the professor says from his second-career office at Durm Properties in Athens, about a half-mile from where he first presented that research in person. “I’ve spent hours on all of these articles, especially in the peer-reviewed journal articles.”

And so, articles on divorce, sex, religion and other topics now populate the pages of Durm’s most recent book in an effort to both continue his teaching and satisfy what has been a lifelong wonderment.

“You know, most people don’t understand statistics, so it’s all in there,” Durm said. “What I’m trying to do is a more critical approach to ‘just don’t believe everything you’re told.’ … It’s things that were in my life that I wanted to see if they were so, by using a psychological analysis.”

And like any good professor, Durm didn’t do that research on his own — or take all of the credit. Among the co-authors of many of his articles in the book were students — many of who he’s lost touch with, but all of whom who he credits by name in his acknowledgements and for each of who, if they look up their ol’ mentor, he has a signed book ready to hand over. For the rest of us, you can find the book at any online bookseller — just as you can with the remainder of our list, presented by the month in which the book was published, read and reviewed.

JANUARY

Unbound (Blackstone) by Christy Healy NG/F

The Devil’s Daughter by Gordon Greisman NG/ARC

FEBRUARY

Almost Surely Dead (Mindy’s Book Studio) by Amina Akhtar NG

The Chaos Agent (Gray Man 13) (Berkley) by Mark Greaney NG

The Lady in Glass and Other Stories (Ace) by Anne Bishop ARC

A Haunting in the Arctic (Berkley paperback) by C.J. Cooke NG

Ghost Island (Berkley) by Max Seeck

MARCH

Hello, Alabama (Arcadia) by Martha Day Zschock

The Unquiet Bones (Montlake) by Loreth Anne White

I am Rome: A novel of Julius Caesar (Ballantine Books by Santiago PosteguilloMarch 5: Murder Road (Berkley) by Simone St. James

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry (Holiday House) by Anna Rose Johnson

Ferris (Candlewick) by Kate DiCamillo

After Annie (Random House, Feb. 27) by Anna Quindlen

Crocodile Tears Didn't Cause the Flood (Montag Press) by Bradley Sides The #1 Lawyer (Little, Brown and Company) by James Patterson, Nancy Allen

Lilith (Blackstone) by Eric Rickstad

Life: My Story Through History (Harper One) by Pope Francis

APRIL

Matterhorn (Thomas & Mercer) by Christopher Reich

Friends in Napa (Mindy’s Book Studio) by Sheila Yasmin Marikar

City in Ruins (William Morrow) by Don Winslow

The House on Biscayne Bay (Berkley) by Chanel Cleeton

Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week (Peachtree) by Sarah L. Thomson

For Worse (Blackstone) by L.K. Bowen

A Killing on the Hill (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Dugoini

The Clock Struck Murder (Poisoned Pen Press) by Betty Webb

The Book That Broke the World (Ace) by Mark Lawrence

The Forgetters (Heyday Books) by Greg Sarris

Lost to Dune Road (Thomas & Mercer) by Kara Thomas

Warrior on the Mound (Holiday House/Peachtree) by Sandra Headed

Pictures of Time (Silver Street Media) by David AlexanderBare Knuckle (Blackstone Publishing) by Stayton Bonner

Murder on Demand (Blackstone Publishing) by Al Roker

Home is Where the Bodies Are (Blackstone) by Jeneva Rose

MAY

Matterhorn by Christopher Reich

The Hunter's Daughter (Berkley) by Nicola Solvinic

The House That Horror Built (Berkley) by Christina Henry

In our stars (Berkley) by Jack Campbell

Freeset (book 2) (Blackstone) by Sarina Dahlan

Southern Man (William Morrow) by Greg Iles

Camino Ghosts (Doubleday) by John Grisham

JUNE

Specter of Betrayal by Rick DeStefanis

Lake County (Thomas & Mercer) by Lori Roy

Serendipity (Dutton) by Becky Chalsen

Shelterwood (Ballantine) by Lisa Wingate

The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle (Holiday House) by Dan Gutman

Jackpot (Penguin) by Elysa Friedland

The Helper (Blackstone) by M.M. Dewil

Winter Lost (Ace) by Patricia Briggs

Shadow Heart (Blackstone) by Meg Gardiner

Lake Country (Thomas & Mercer) by Lori Roy

The Out-of-Town Lawyer (Blackstone) by Robert Rotten

Love Letter to a Serial Killer (Berkley) by Tasha Coryell

Sentinel Berkley) by Mark Greaney

JULY

Three Kings: Race, Class, and the Barrier-Breaking Rivals Who Redefined Sports and Launched the Modern Olympic Age (Blackstone) by Todd Balf

The Night Ends with Fire (Berkley) by K.X. Song

Echo Road (Montlake) by Melinda Leigh

It’s Elementary (Berkley) by Elise Bryant

You Shouldn’t Be Here (Thomas & Mercer) by Lauren Thoman

Back In Black (Blackstone) edited by Don Bruns

The Recruiter (Blackstone) by Gregg Podolski

AUGUST

You Shouldn’t Be Here (Thomas & Mercer) by Lauren Thoman ARC

Not What She Seems (Thomas & Mercer) by Yasmin Angoe NG

Fatal Intrusion by Jeff Deaver/Isabella Maldonado

Death at Morning House (HARPERTeen) by Maureen Johnson

Fire and Bones (Scribner) by Kathy Reichs

Some Nightmares Are Real (University of Alabama Press) by Kelly Kazoo

The Brothers Kenny (Blackstone) by Adam Mitzner

Blind to Midnight (Blackstone) by Reed Farrel Coleman

The Wayside (Blackstone) by Carolina Wolff

Enemy of the State (Blackstone) by Robert Smartwood

You Will Never Be Me (Berkley) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (W.W. Norton) by Adam Kirsch

We Love the Nightlife (Berkley) by Rachel Koller Croft

Talking To Strangers (Berkley) by Fiona Barton

An Honorable Assassin (Blackstone) by Steve Hamilton possible interview see email

Dungeon Crawler Carl (1 of 6 but see next two months) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

SEPTEMBER

Fatal Intrusion (Thomas & Mercer) by Jeffrey Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

When They Last Saw Her (Penguin) by Marcie Rendon

American Ghoul (Blackstone) by Michelle McGill-Vargas

First Do No Harm (Blackstone) by Steve Hamilton

A Quiet Life: A Novel (Arcade) by William Cooper and Michael McKinley

One More From the Top (Mariner) by Emily Layden

No Address (Forefront Books) by Ken Abraham.

Tiger’s Tale (Blackstone) by Colleen Houck

An Academy for Liars (Ace) by Alexis Henderson

Rewitched (Berkley) by Lucy Jane Wood

Gaslight (Blackstone) by Sara Shepard and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Counting Miracles (Random House) by Nicholas Sparks

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society (Ace) by C.M. Waggoner

The Hitchcock Hotel (Berkley) by Stephanie Wrobel

In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (2 of 6 see next month also) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

OCTOBER

The Hushed (Blackstone) by K.R. Blair NG

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer (Berkley) by Maxie Dara

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (Norton) by WSJ Weekend review editor Adam Kirsch

Framed (Doubleday) by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

This Cursed House (Penguin) by Del Sandeen

The Puzzle Box (Random House) by Danielle Trussoni

Two Good Men (Blackstone) by S.E. Redfearn

Dark Space (Blackstone) by Rob Hart and Alex Segura

This Cursed House (Berkley’s open submission)by Del Sandeen

Vindicating Trump (Regnery) by Dinesh D’Souza

The Book of Witching (Berkley) by C.J. Cooke

The World Walk (Skyhorse) by Tom Turcich

The Waiting Game by Michael Connelly  ARC, possible interview see email

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Dugoni

Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (3 of 6, with bonus material) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

Frozen Lives (Blackstone) by Jennifer Graeser Fronbush NG

Vincent, Starry Starry Night (Meteor 17 Books) intro by Don McLean

Paris in Winter: An Illustrated Memoir (PowerHouse Books) by David Coggins

NOVEMBER

The Waiting (Little, Brown) by Michael Connelly

The Teller of Small Fortunes (Penguin) by Julie Long

Shadow Lab (Blackstone) by Brendan Deneen

Trial by Ambush (Thomas & Mercer) by Marcia Clark

Devil Take It (Heresy Press) by Daniel Debs Nossiter

SerVant of Earth (Ace) by Sarah Hawley

All the other me (Blackstone) by Jody Holford

The Perfect Marriage (Blackstone reissue re-edit) by Jenny Rose

DECEMBER

Trial By Ambush (Thomas & Mercer) by Marcia Clark

The Close-Up (Gallery Books) by Pip Drysdale

The Silent Watcher (Thomas & Mercer) by Victor Methos

Leviathan (Lividian Trade HC) by Robert McCammon

The Silent Watcher (Thomas & Mercer) by Victor Method

Assume Nothing (Thomas & Mercer) by Joshua Corin

One example link:
https://enewscourier.com/2024/11/29/in-review-booking-a-full-year-of-reading/

An excellent second installment in Fiona Barton’s detective Elise King series. A woman is found dead in the woods and Elise, along with reporter Kiki Nunn investigate many leads to find the killer. There are many characters and alternating perspectives which make this a page-turner. The twist at the end was completely unexpected. I look forward to the next in this series.

Great read! I filled all this out and my internet crashed and wiped everything out. I highly recommend reading this. Characters Kiki is a relentless reporter, digging for the truth with great people skills. Detective Elise is recovering cancer Struggling to be normal again, A murder or two, rape, lies and tons of suspects to make solving this a great story.

This was one of those sequels that I ended up liking a bit more than book 1 in the series. I like our MC, Detective Elise King, and the way she has to get at the heart of mysteries. I was happy to see Niki Nunn, fearless journalist, and constant annoyance for Elise make a reappearance in this series too. The answers to the mysteries were rather predictable for the most part, just like in the first book. Despite this, if Elise and Niki star in the next book in the series, I'll still pick it up for sure. I really enjoy the push and pull, sometimes friends but sometimes at odds dynamic.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

Spooky and fun.

Another superbly plotted and well-paced crime thriller.

This is a slow burner that kept me intrigued and guessing until the epilogue with its shocking finish. Basically, it's a mystery centered on two different murders that are inexplicably intertwined. The story was told in alternating points of view with the primary characters being DI Elise King and reporter Kiki Nunn.

A single, middle-aged woman just wants to have fun. Karen Simmons likes her dating apps and often swipes right. She meets and hooks up with the wrong guy late on Valentine's Day night. DI Elise King and her team investigate with many possible suspects to interview. Kiki Nunn is trying to make a living working for a local online news agency and decides to use the murder of Karen Simmons to do her own little deep dive into the online dating scene and the danger of strangers. And she definitely puts herself in it with a very bad guy -- could he be the one who also murdered Karen?

Lots of suspects and solid police techniques make for a slow process as they wade through witness statements and scant evidence. It's only when they also start looking at the death of a young child years earlier in the same woods where Karen's body was found that they start to narrow their focus.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I usually enjoy the narrators, but I really was put off by the voice of Jayne Entwistle who voiced Kiki. She sounded like an elderly woman and didn't fit the character in my mind. The other female narrator and the male's voice were satisfactory and matched their parts.

I look forward to reading the next in this series.

Talking to Strangers is Book 2 in Fiona Barton's Elise King series, and, although it technically can be read as a standalone, I wouldn't. I would start with Local Gone Missing and prepare to love this series. Fiona Barton is the master at slowing dropping clues, crafting her web, until she has you completely ensnare, before completely dropping a surprise reveal at the end. The multiple narrators really work, and I'm already excited for the next installment.

The narrative is gripping, with well-developed characters and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end. Barton's writing style is engaging, making it easy to get lost in the story. It's a great read for anyone who enjoys suspenseful and thought-provoking novels.

Thriller readers like things dark. Whether it’s mystery, suspense, or speculative, we expect bad things to happen to good people, for death and despair. But Fiona Barton’s latest, Talking to Strangers, may be the bleakest thriller I’ve ever read. Barton, British author of The Widow (reviewed here) and The Child (reviewed here) creates strong female protagonists and puts them in tough situations. In Talking to Strangers, she implies there’s no real escape.

When 45-year-old single hairdresser Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine’s Day in the woods of the British hamlet of Ebbing, the case lands with detective Elise King. (Elise and Ebbing were also featured in Barton’s Local Gone Missing.) On her own after being dumped for another woman, and still recovering from a cancer fight, Elise thinks Karen’s murder is related to her use of dating apps and running a local singles group. Reporter Kiki Nunn, a single mother with a teenage daughter, thinks the murder is her chance to make a name for herself on the web site she reports for, and tries to infiltrate the dating scene to find the killer. And Annie Curtis, who used to live in Ebbing, is haunted by memories of her son Archie, who was killed 15 years ago in those same woods. The young man accused of killing Archie committed suicide, but what if he was actually innocent?

At first, Talking to Strangers reminded me of Mary Higgins Clark’s take on dating strangers: Loves Music, Loves to Dance. But as the book unfolded, the similarities waned. The singles in Ebbing seem more interested in the hook-up culture than in meeting a partner, and Elise and Kiki find a private chat room run by men celebrating their conquests. Could one of them have murdered Karen? Many in Ebbing believe she “asked for it” by having one-night stands. Even the men in her singles group look down on her.

The book overflows with suspects, and both Elise and Kiki are in danger as they investigate all the men who could have killed Karen. Elise, overworked and scared that her cancer treatment has dulled her instincts, finds comfort in a new male neighbor, while Kiki is drawn into the same apps that seduced Karen. The women’s vulnerability and loneliness is heartbreaking. And as Annie reinvestigates her son’s murder, it slowly becomes clear that her husband might have a connection to Karen’s death as well.

The women in Ebbing are surrounded by men who are killers, cheaters, liars, misogynists, or perverts. The wives cannot trust their own husbands; the single women are prey. These men clearly hate women, and their disgust is apparent on every page. (A speech by a man who blames his cheating on his wife’s love for their children is particularly loathsome.) The book ends on an especially dispiriting note, implying that the behavior is passed on and worsens through the generations.

Elise King is a strong protagonist, and she’s well supported by characters like Kiki and other (female) locals who populate Ebbing. I hope that if Clark decides to continue Elise’s story, she shines a light on some of the brighter corners of Ebbing as well.